Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally at the Alliant Energy Center on Sept. 20, in Madison, Wisc. Harris spoke to a capacity crowd of 10,500 during the event.
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Vice President Harris says she would support eliminating the filibuster in the U.S. Senate in order to bring back federal protections for a woman's right to an abortion as they existed under Roe v. Wade.
Harris outlined her position during an interview Monday with NPR member station Wisconsin Public Radio, saying that when it comes to the issue of abortion, she believes the Senate should do away with the filibuster rule that requires a 60-vote threshold for most legislation to pass.
"I've been very clear, I think we should eliminate the filibuster for Roe, and get us to the point where 51 votes would be what we need to actually put back in law the protections for reproductive freedom and for the ability of every person and every woman to make decisions about their own body and not have their government tell them what to do," Harris told WPR host Kate Archer Kent.
Harris' comments came as she works to sharpen the distinction between herself and former President Donald Trump on one of the most pivotal issues facing voters in this year's presidential election. And while she has voiced support for ending the filibuster before — including on the issue of reproductive rights — it's a topic she has rarely addressed since President Biden's decision to abandon his reelection bid and endorse her instead.
Her message could carry particular weight in Wisconsin, a crucial battleground state where virtually no legal abortions were performed for nearly 15 months in the aftermath of the Supreme Court's decision in 2022 to strike down Roe.
Harris has blamed Trump for the fall of Roe, saying as recently as Friday that he is the "architect" of a health care crisis caused by the Supreme Court's decision in Roe — a law that Trump's three Supreme Court nominees voted to overturn. In the same speech, she referenced recent reporting from ProPublica about two Georgia women whose deaths, after implementation of the state's new abortion law, were deemed "preventable" by a state committee of maternal health experts.
Trump has sought to push back against Harris, telling an audience in Pennsylvania on Monday that "women will be happy, healthy confident and free" if he is elected to a second term in office.
"You will no longer be thinking about abortion, it's all they talk about, abortion, because we've done something that nobody else could have done. It is now where it always had to be, with the states and they [sic] vote of the people," Trump said.
Harris on housing and "forever chemicals"
During her interview, Harris was also pressed on a number of other issues facing Wisconsin voters. On housing, she reiterated her plans to provide $25,000 in down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers, and said she would work with the private sector and home builders "to build 3 million new homes by the end of my first term."
Harris said she would reach that goal through a combination of tax credits for builders and eliminating red tape in the construction process.
The vice president was also asked about toxic chemicals known as PFAs that are contaminating drinking water around Wisconsin, and whether she would press for stricter regulations of these chemicals.
Harris said the Biden administration is funding billions in water infrastructure projects around the country to clean up drinking water and replace lead pipes. Nearly $2 billion of that funding is going to Wisconsin, she said.
A transcript of Harris' interview with Wisconsin Public Radio will be available on the station's website.
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